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Historic Moments and Notable Performances
Updated through the 2009 season
- Track and field for women became an intercollegiate sport at Hope College in 1976. It took just
five years before the Flying Dutch won their first
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship.
Two Hope athletes have been crowned four-time MIAA champions -- Paula Smith
'86 in the long jump (1983-86) and Marcia Vandersall '93 in the 5,000 meter
run (1990-93). Vandersall also achieved NCAA All-America status four times
in her career, finishing sixth twice in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meter
run.
Hope's first NCAA All-American in women's track and field was Karen Gingras-Hoekstra
'86 who was sixth at nationals in the javelin in 1987. Gingras-Hoekstra
was also a standout basketball player who held Hope's alltime scoring record
for
several years.
Hope's best performances at nationals have been the silver medal finishes
of Mary Busscher '89 in the shotput (1989) and Jennifer VanderMeer '07
in the pole vault (2004 and 2005).
Only a freshman, Lindsay Lange '08 broke five school records during the
2005 season -- 200 meters, 400 meters, 100 meter hurdles, 400 meter hurdles
and heptathlon. She achieved NCAA All-America honors as a freshman (400 meters),
sophomore (heptathlon) and junior (heptathlon).
Jennifer Price '04 was a standout middle distance runner, winning the MIAA
800 meter title three times (2001, 2002, and 2004) and achieving NCAA All-America
honors as a senior with a seventh place finish at nationals.
Pole vaulter Jennifer VanderMeer '07 became the first Hope athlete to achieve All-America honors four consecutive
years -- 2004 (2nd place), 2005 (2nd place), 2006 (6th place) and 2007 (5th place).
Sprinter Nora Kuiper '09 became Hope's first national female track and field nation champion as she won the gold
medal in the 100-meter dash at the 2009 NCAA Division III championships. She also finished second at nationals in the 200-meter dash.
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